Flexible roasting support with perforations

ABSTRACT

A flexible roasting support for placement on a grid in a fan oven comprising a flexible sheet, for example a heat resistant paper foil, with perforations distributed over the sheet for circulation of heating air through the perforations.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a flexible roasting support withperforations, for example a flexible paper or polymer foil.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When roasting potatoes, for example French fries, in an oven, the friesmay only get crispy on the upper side and stay soft on the lower side,because of moisture and fat that stays on the pan underneath. In orderto get the fries crispy on all sides, the fries have to be turned.However, the latter procedure is tedious and implies a danger of injuryfor the person handling the fries, because the oven, the pan and thefries are very hot.

In order to improve baking or roasting results, a number bakingcontainers have been disclosed concerning the problem of leading meltingfat away from the supported food product. Such disclosures are found inJapan patent application JP10295550 by Isogay Atsutoshi, UK patentapplications GB 2 295 308 by John Francis Gordon and GB 2 364 772 byWilliam and Mark Rowley.

However, even though the fat may be led away, the fries are subject toan uneven roasting result. There is therefore a need for improvementsuch that the roasting result is more satisfactory.

DESCRIPTION/SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore the object of the invention to provide means forimproved roasting of food product, especially potato fries.

This object is achieved by a flexible roasting support for placement ona grid in a fan oven, the support comprising a flexible sheet withperforations distributed over the sheet for circulation of heating airthrough the perforations.

As thorough study of the problem has revealed, use of a sheet accordingto the invention improves the result for roasting of potato fries andother food product dramatically over known methods. The perforationallows the hot air in the fan oven to circulate through the perforationssuch that the food product not only is roasted by the air above the foodproduct but also by the air beneath it.

It has to be understood that the invention is not limited to be placedon a grid, as other means may be used which allows air to flow throughthe material. In principle, an improved result as compared to prior artcould be achieved by placing the fries directly on the grid in the fanoven. However, fries and other related food product would fall throughthe openings in the grid, which does not lead to a desired result. Byhaving a sheet with openings substantially smaller than the pieces offood product to be roasted, this is prevented. Also, the perforation ofthe sheet according to the invention may be adjusted to special uses,for example for roasting potato fries, roasting small pieces ofvegetables, etc. Another reason for not placing the food productdirectly on the grid is the danger of the food product sticking onto thegrid. This is especially the case for potato chips or fries getting softduring the first part of the roasting process.

Another advantage of the circulation through the perforations is areduced time for roasting or baking, which in turn results in lowerenergy consumption.

A sheet according to the invention may be supplied in the same way asheat resistant paper or polymer foils that already today are used forbaking and roasting. However, the difference is the holes in the sheet,which allow hot air to circulate through and improve the result by thebaling or roasting process. In contrast to material that is used formicrowave ovens, where a susceptor is built into the material, the sheetmaterial according to the invention may be a low-cost susceptor-freematerial, for example paper.

In order to remove potato chips or other food product from the sheet,the sheet may be gripped at the corners and lifted from the grid bywhich the sheet deforms into a bag for easy transport of the chips orother food product. As the sheet is very thin, the heat capacity is lowpreventing burning of fingers when gripping the sheet.

The sheet material according to the invention may be improved with asurface being a non-sticking layer, which facilitates the removal of thefood product from the sheet. For example, this may be achieved with aheat resistant paper foil with a silicone top layer.

As it is known from paper used for baking, the sheet according to theinvention may be dispensed from a roll of such sheet material or it maybe delivered in ready-to.use pre-cut sheets, for example having a sizeadapted to a specific size of the fan-oven. The size of such ovens mayvary from large ovens for professional use to small table-top miniovens. Also, the sheet according to the invention may be made ofsingle-use, disposable foil, for example of paper or polymer or acombination thereof. Alternatively, the sheet according to the inventionmay comprise or consist of a metal foil, for example aluminium.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the sheet of the flexibleroasting support according to the invention may comprise a fat absorbinglayer in order to absorb the fat that may melt from the supported foodproduct. In addition this layer may absorb dispensed liquid from thefood product. This way, it is assured that the food product is not lyingin the fat and/or liquid, which reduces the amount of fat with the foodproduct and also may improve the roasting result. For example, the sheetmay comprise a smooth upper layer and a fat absorbing lower layer forabsorption of fat flowing from the smooth layer through theperforations. Alternatively, the fat absorbing layer may be coated witha smooth layer for easy removal of the roasted or baked food product,for example where the smooth layer allows fat to migrate through thelayer, such as a paper sheet with a silicone layer, wherein the siliconelayer is fat migrative.

Though the invention is intended for use on a grid or other means withopenings in an oven, it may be used also on a solid plate in an oven. Inthis case, the benefit of the air flow through the sheet is notavailable, but for the fat absorbing properties, a sheet withperforations may still improve the roasting result because the contactof the food with the fat is reduced.

Alternatively to a single-use disposable sheet, the sheet may be made ofa single layer of re-use polymer foil, for example comprisingtetrafluorethylene, also known as Teflon®. Such re-use material may bewashable material.

The sheet according to the invention should be heat resistant up to thetemperature at which it is desired to be used. For example, the sheetcould be constructed to withstand a temperature of 200° C., or rather220° C., or higher.

The perforations of the sheet may be evenly distributed over the sheet.The advantage is a ratio between open area and closed area independentof the location on the sheet. Thus, if the size of a sheet is adjusted,for example by cutting, to the size of a fan oven, for example a smalltable-top model, there is still a possibility of an even circulationthrough the sheet.

However, in cases, where it is evident that the air circulation in thecentral part of the oven is higher than at the borders or vice versa,the sheet may have varying density of perforations or different sizes ofthe opening in order to ensure an even air circulation through thesheet. Thus, the flexible roasting support according to the inventionmay comprise perforations have a varying density over the sheet adaptedfor the specific air flow in the fan oven for ensuring even aircirculation through the sheet when used in a fan oven. If regarded asadvantagsous, the distribution of perforations may be asymmetricallyover the sheet.

Experiments have shown that good results for baking/roasting can beachieved with an area of the perforations of 10-50% or rather 25-40% ascompared to the total area of the sheet.

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to thedrawing, where

FIG. 1 shows a prior art system with a fan oven and a plate with foodproduct,

FIG. 2 shows a fan oven with a sheet according to the invention on agrid,

FIG. 3 shows a possible embodiment with a sheet roll,

FIG. 4 shows a possible embodiment of the invention with a fat absorber.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION/PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows a prior art system with a fan oven 1 inside which aircirculates above 2 the plate 3 and below 4 the plate 3. The air stream 4below the plate 3 with the food product 5, for example potato chips,heats the plate 3, which disadvantageously may result in the foodproduct being heated more by the plate 3 than by the air stream 2circulating above the plate 3. The result may be burned food product,for example chips. In case that fat or liquid leaves the food product 5,the food product may be prevented from being crisp on one side. Bothsituations are normally wanted to be omitted.

In contrast thereto, in FIG. 2, the flexible roasting support accordingto the invention in the form of a sheet 6 placed on a grid 7 allows aircirculation 8 through the perforation, which is illustrated by arrows 9,9′ with all the advantages that have been described above.

FIG. 3 illustrates a possible embodiment, where a sheet/foil 6 accordingto the invention is provided as part of a roll 10. Thus, sheets 6 forbaking or roasting may be dispensed from the roll 10, for example forsingle use and following disposal. As illustrated, perforations 11 maybe evenly distributed over the sheet 6.

FIG. 4 illustrated a part of a sheet 6 according to the invention withcircular holes as perforations 11. However, holes may have a differentshape, if desired. As a cross section A-A reveals, the sheet 6 may be asheet with more than one layer. For example, the upper layer 12 may be anon-stick layer for assuring that food product is easily removed fromit. The lower layer 13 may be a fat absorbing layer for absorbing fatthat flows through the holes 11.

Other combinations of layers are possible, for example paper sheets withfat absorbing properties on which a fat migrative layer is provided.Such two layer system or even other multilayer systems may be providedby a variety of production methods, for example as a laminate or asfoils onto which other layers are provided by painting, spraying,melting.

1. A flexible roasting support for placement on a grid in a fan oven,the support comprising a flexible sheet with perforations distributedover the sheet for circulation of heating air through the perforations,wherein the sheet is susceptor-free.
 2. A flexible roasting supportaccording to claim 1, wherein the sheet is flexible for easy rolling orunrolling of the sheet.
 3. A flexible roasting support according toclaim 1, wherein the perforations are evenly distributed over the sheet.4. A flexible roasting support according to claim 1, wherein theperforations have a varying density over the sheet adapted for thespecific air flow in the fan oven for ensuring even air circulationthrough the sheet when used in the oven.
 5. A flexible roasting supportaccording to claim 1, wherein the density of perforations or the size ofthe perforations varies from the centre of the sheet to the edge of thesheet adapted for the specific air flow in the fan oven for ensuringeven air circulation through the sheet when used in the oven.
 6. Aflexible roasting support according to claim 1, wherein the sheetcomprises a fat absorbing layer.
 7. A flexible roasting supportaccording to claim 6, wherein the sheet consists of a fat absorbingpaper sheet.
 8. A flexible roasting support according to claim 1,wherein the sheet comprises a smooth upper layer and a fat absorbinglower layer for absorption of fat flowing from the smooth layer throughthe perforations.
 9. A flexible roasting support according to claim 8,wherein the sheet is made of single-use, disposable paper foil.
 10. Aflexible roasting support according to claim 8, wherein the sheet is apaper foil with a silicone top layer.
 11. A flexible roasting supportaccording to claim 10, wherein the silicone layer is fat migrative. 12.A flexible roasting support according to claim 1, wherein the sheet ismade of a single layer of re-use polymer foil.
 13. A flexible roastingsupport according to claim 1, wherein the sheet has an area ofperforation between 10 and 50%.
 14. A flexible roasting supportaccording to claim 13, wherein the area of perforation is between 25 and40%
 15. A flexible roasting support according to claim 1, wherein thesheet has a size adapted to a specific type of fan oven.
 16. A flexibleroasting support according to claim 1, as part of a roll.